Tri-gate devices and methods of fabrication

ABSTRACT

The present invention is a semiconductor device comprising a semiconductor body having a top surface and laterally opposite sidewalls formed on a substrate. A gate dielectric layer is formed on the top surface of the semiconductor body and on the laterally opposite sidewalls of the semiconductor body. A gate electrode is formed on the gate dielectric on the top surface of the semiconductor body and adjacent to the gate dielectric on the laterally opposite sidewalls of the semiconductor body.

This is a Divisional application of Ser. No. 10/887,609 filed Jul. 8,2004 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,914,295 which is a Divisional application ofSer. No. 10/367,263 filed Feb. 14, 2003 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,858,478which is a Continuation-In-Part of prior application Ser. No. 10/227,068filed on Aug. 23, 2002.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the field of semiconductor integratedcircuit manufacturing, and more particularly to a tri-gate fullydepleted substrate transistor and its methods of fabrication.

2. Discussion of Related Art

In order to increase device performance, silicon on insulator (SOI)transistors have been proposed for the fabrication of modern integratedcircuits. FIG. 1 illustrates a standard fully depleted silicon oninsulator (SOI) transistor 100. SOI transistor 100 includes a singlecrystalline silicon substrate 102 having an insulating layer 104, suchas a buried oxide formed thereon. A single crystalline silicon body 106is formed on the insulating layer 104. A gate dielectric layer 108 isformed on the single crystalline silicon body 106 and a gate electrode110 formed on the gate dielectric 108. Source 112 and drain 114 regionsare formed in the silicon body 106 along laterally opposite sides ofgate electrode 110.

Fully depleted SOI have been proposed as a transistor structure to takeadvantage of ideal sub-threshold gradients for optimized on current/offcurrent ratios. In order to achieve ideal subthreshold gradients withtransistor 100, the thickness of the silicon body 106 must be about ⅓the size of the gate length (Lg) of the transistor or Tsi=Lg/3. However,as gate lengths scale especially as they approach 30 nm, the need forever decreasing silicon film thickness (Tsi) makes this approachincreasingly impractical. At 30 nanometer gate length, the thicknessrequired of the silicon body is thought to need to be less than 10nanometers, and around 6 nanometer for a 20 nanometer gate length. Thefabrication of thin silicon films with thicknesses of less than 10nanometers, is considered to be extremely difficult. On one hand,obtaining wafer uniformity on the order of one nanometer is a difficultchallenge. On the other hand, to be able to contact these thin films toform raised source/drain regions to decrease junction resistance,becomes almost impossible since the thin silicon layer in thesource/drain regions becomes consumed during the gate etch and variouscleans following the gate etch and spacer etch leaving insufficientsilicon 106 for silicon to grow on.

A double gate (DG) device, such as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, have beenproposed to alleviate the silicon thickness issue. The double gate (DG)device 200 includes a silicon body 202 formed on an insulating substrate204. A gate dielectric 206 is formed on two sides of the silicon body202 and a gate electrode 208 is formed adjacent to the gate dielectric206 formed on the two sides of the silicon body 202. A sufficientlythick insulating layer 209, such as silicon nitride, electricallyisolates the gate electrode 208 from the top of silicon body 202.

Double gate (DG) device 200 essentially has two gates, one on eitherside of the channel of the device. Because the double gate device 200has a gate on each side of the channel, thickness (Tsi) of the siliconbody can be double that of a single gate device and still obtain a fullydepleted transistor operation. That is, with a double gate device 200 afully depleted transistor can be formed where Tsi=(2×Lg)/3. The mostmanufacturable form of the double gate (DG) device 200, however,requires that the body 202 patterning be done with photolithography thatis 0.7× smaller than that used to pattern the gate length (Lg) of thedevice. In order to obtain high density integrated circuits, it isgenerally desirable to have the most aggressive lithography occur withrespect to the gate length (Lg) of the gate electrode 208. Although,double gate structures double the thickness of the silicon film (sincethere now is a gate on either side of the channel) these structures,however, are hideously difficult to fabricate. For example, silicon body202 requires a silicon body etch which can produce a silicon body 202with an aspect ratio (height to width) of about 5:1.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a cross-sectional view of a depletedsubstrate transistor.

FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B illustrate a double gate depleted substratetransistor.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of a tri-gate transistor in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4A is an illustration of a tri-gate transistor in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4B is an illustration of a tri-gate transistor in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 5A-5J illustrate methods of fabricating a tri-gate transistor inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a plot which illustrates body heights and body widths whichcan be used to obtain partially depleted and fully depleted tri-gatetransistors having gate lengths (Ig) of 30 nm and 20 nm.

FIG. 7A is an illustration of a nonplanar transistor having a thin gatedielectric layer on the top surface of a semiconductor body and athicker gate dielectric layer on the sidewalls of the semiconductorbody.

FIG. 7B is an illustration of a nonplanar transistor having a singledielectric layer on the top surface of a semiconductor body and acomposite dielectric layer on the sidewalls of the semiconductor body.

FIGS. 8A-8D illustrate a method of forming a gate dielectric layer witha greater thickness on the sidewalls of a semiconductor body than on thetop surface of semiconductor body, and/or with a lower effectivedielectric constant on the sidewalls of a semiconductor body than on thetop surface of semiconductor body.

FIGS. 9A-9D illustrate a method of forming a gate dielectric layer witha greater thickness on the sidewalls of a semiconductor body than on thetop surface of semiconductor body, and/or with a lower effectivedielectric constant on the sidewalls of a semiconductor body than on thetop surface of semiconductor body.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

The present invention is a novel tri-gate transistor structure and itsmethod of fabrication. In the following description numerous specificdetails are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding inthe present invention. In other instances, well-known semiconductorprocess and manufacturing techniques have not been described inparticular detail in order to not unnecessarily obscure the presentinvention.

The present invention is novel tri-gate transistor structure and itsmethod of fabrication. In an embodiment of the present invention, thetri-gate transistor is a semiconductor on insulator (SOI) transistor.The tri-gate transistor is ideal for use in fully depleted substratetransistor applications. The tri-gate transistor includes a thinsemiconductor body formed on an substrate, the substate can be aninsulating substrate or a semiconductor substrate. A gate dielectric isformed on the top surface and the sidewalls of the semiconductor body. Agate electrode is formed on the gate dielectric on the top surface ofthe semiconductor body and is formed adjacent to the gate dielectricformed on the sidewalls of the semiconductor body. Source and drainregions are formed in the semiconductor body on opposite sides of thegate electrode. Because the gate electrode and the gate dielectricsurround the semiconductor body on three sides, the transistoressentially has three separate channels and gates. The gate “width” of atransistor is equal to the sum of each of the three sides of thesemiconductor body. Larger “width” transistors can be formed byconnecting several tri-gate transistors together.

Because there are three separate channels formed in the semiconductorbody, the semiconductor body can be fully depleted when the transistoris turned “ON”, thereby enabling the formation of a fully depletedtransistor with gate lengths of less than 30 nanometers withoutrequiring the use of ultra-thin semiconductor bodies or requiringphotolithographic patterning of the semiconductor bodies to dimensionsless than the gate length (Lg) of the device. That is, the structure ofthe tri-gate transistor of the present invention enables a fullydepleted transistor to be fabricated where the thickness of thesemiconductor body and width of the semiconductor body are equal to thegate length of the device. Because the novel tri-gate transistor of thepresent invention can be operated in a fully depleted manner, the deviceis characterized by ideal (i.e., very sharp) subthreshold slope and areduced drain induced barrier lowering (DIBL) short channel effect ofless than 100 mV/V and ideally about 60 mVN which results in a lowerleakage current when the device is turned “OFF” resulting in lower powerconsumption.

An example of a tri-gate transistor 300 in accordance with an embodimentof present invention as illustrated in FIG. 3. Tri-gate transistor 300is formed on an substrate 302. In an embodiment of the presentinvention, substrate 302 is an insulating substrate which includes alower monocrystalline silicon substrate 304 upon which is formed ininsulating layer 306, such as a silicon dioxide film. Tri-gatetransistor 300, however, can be formed on any well-known insulatingsubstrate such as substrates formed from silicon dioxide, nitrides,oxides, and shappires. In an embodiment of the present invention, thesubstrate 302 can be a semiconductor substrate, such as but not limitedto monocrystalline silicon substrate and gallium arsenide substrate.

Tri-gate transistor 300 includes a semiconductor body 308 formed oninsulator 306 of insulating substrate 302. Semiconductor body 308 can beformed of any well-known semiconductor material, such as but not limitedto silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), silicon germanium (Si_(x)Ge_(y)),gallium arsenide (GaAs), InSb, GaP, GaSb and carbon nanotubes.Semiconductor body 308 can be formed of any well-known material whichcan be reversibly altered from an insulating state to a conductive stateby applying external electrical controls. Semiconductor body 308 isideally a single crystalline film when the best electrical performanceof transistor 300, is desired. For example, semiconductor body 308 is asingle crystalline film when transistor 300 is used in high performanceapplications, such as in a high density circuit, such as amicroprocessor. Semiconductor body 308, however, can be apolycrystalline film when transistor 300 is used in applicationsrequiring less stringent performance, such as in liquid crystaldisplays. Insulator 306 insulates semiconductor body 308 frommonocrystalline silicon substrate 302. In an embodiment of the presentinvention, semiconductor body 308 is a single crystalline silicon film.Semiconductor body 308 has a pair of laterally opposite sidewalls 310and 312 separated by a distance which defines a semiconductor body width314. Additionally, semiconductor body 308 has a top surface 316 oppositea bottom surface 318 formed on substrate 302. The distance between thetop surface 316 and the bottom surface 318 defines a body height 320. Inan embodiment of the present invention the body height 320 issubstantially equal to the body width 314. In an embodiment of thepresent invention, the body 308 has a width 314 and height 320 less than30 nanometers and ideally less than 20 nanometers. In an embodiment ofthe present invention, the body height 320 is between ½ the body width314 to 2 times the body width 314.

Tri-gate transistor 300 has a gate dielectric layer 322. Gate dielectriclayer 322 is formed on and around three sides of semiconductor body 308as shown in FIG. 3. Gate dielectric layer 322 is formed on or adjacentto sidewall 312, on top surface 316 and on or adjacent to sidewall 310of body 308 as shown in FIG. 3. Gate dielectric layer 322 can be anywell-known gate dielectric layer. In an embodiment of the presentinvention, the gate dielectric layer is a silicon dioxide (SiO₂),silicon oxynitride (SiO_(x)N_(y)) or a silicon nitride (Si₃N₄)dielectric layer. In an embodiment of the present invention, the gatedielectric layer 322 is a silicon oxynitride film formed to a thicknessof between 5-20Å. In an embodiment of the present invention, gatedielectric layer 322 is a high K gate dielectric layer, such as a metaloxide dielectric, such as but not limited to tantalum pentaoxide(Ta₂O₅), and titantium oxide (TiO₂). Gate dielectric layer 322 can beother types of high K dielectric, such as but not limited to PZT.

Tri-gate device 300 has a gate electrode 324. Gate electrode 324 isformed on and around gate dielectric layer 322 as shown in FIG. 3. Gateelectrode 324 is formed on or adjacent to gate dielectric 322 formed onsidewall 312 of semiconductor body 308, is formed on gate dielectric 322formed on the top surface 316 of semiconductor body 308, and is formedadjacent to or on gate dielectric layer 322 formed on sidewall 310 ofsemiconductor body 308. Gate electrode 324 has a pair of laterallyopposite sidewalls 326 and 328 separated by a distance which defines thegate length (Lg) 330 of transistor 300. In an embodiment of the presentinvention the laterally opposite sidewalls 326 and 328 of the gateelectrode 324 run in a direction perpendicular to the laterally oppositesidewalls 310 and 312 of semiconductor body 308.

Gate electrode 324 can be formed of any suitable gate electrodematerial. In an embodiment of the present invention to gate electrode324 comprises of polycrystalline silicon doped to a concentrationdensity between 1×10¹⁹ atoms/cm³−1×10²⁰ atoms/cm³. In an embodiment ofthe present invention the gate electrode can be a metal gate electrode,such as but not limited to, tungsten, tantalum, titanium, and theirnitrides. In an embodiment of the present invention the gate electrodeis formed from a material having a mid-gap work function between 4.6-4.8eV. It is to be appreciated, the gate electrode 324 need not necessarilybe a single material and can be a composite stack of thin films, such asbut not limited to a polycrystalline silicon/metal electrode or ametal/polycrystalline silicon electrode.

Tri-gate transistor 300 has a source region 330 and a drain region 332.Source region 330 and drain region 332 are formed in semiconductor body308 on opposite sides of gate electrode 324 as shown in FIG. 3. Thesource region 330 and the drain region 332 are formed of the sameconductivity type such as N-type or P-type conductivity. In anembodiment of the present invention source region 330 and drain region332 have a doping concentration of between 1×10¹⁹, and 1×10²¹ atoms/cm³.Source region 330 and drain region 332 can be formed of uniformconcentration or can include subregions of different concentrations ordoping profiles such as tip regions (e.g., source/drain extensions). Inan embodiment of the present invention when transistor 300 is asymmetrical transistor, source region 330 and drain region 332 will havethe same doping concentration and profile. In an embodiment of thepresent invention when tri-gate transistor 300 is formed as anasymmetric transistor then the doping concentration and profile of thesource region 330 and the drain region 332 may vary in order to obtain aparticular electrical characteristic.

The portion of semiconductor body 308 located between source region 330and drain region 332, defines the channel region 350 of transistor 300.The channel region 350 can also be defined as the area of thesemiconductor body 308 surrounded by the gate electrode 324. At timeshowever, the source/drain region may extend slightly beneath the gateelectrode through, for example, diffusion to define a channel regionslightly smaller than the gate electrode length (Lg). In an embodimentof the present invention channel region 350 is intrinsic or undopedmonocrystalline silicon. In an embodiment of the present invention,channel region 350 is doped monocrystalline silicon. When channel region350 is doped it is typically doped to a conductivity level of between1×10¹⁶ to 1×10¹⁹ atoms/cm³. In an embodiment of the present invention,when the channel region is doped it is typically doped to the oppositeconductivity type of the source region 330 and the drain region 332. Forexample, when the source and drain regions are N-type conductivity thechannel region would be doped to p type conductivity. Similarly, whenthe source and drain regions are P type conductivity the channel regionwould be N-type conductivity. In this manner a tri-gate transistor 300can be formed into either a NMOS transistor or a PMOS transistorrespectively. Channel region 350 can be uniformly doped or can be dopednon-uniformly or with differing concentrations to provide particularelectrical and performance characteristics. For example, channel regions350 can include well-known “halo” regions, if desired.

By providing a gate dielectric and a gate electrode which surrounds thesemiconductor body on three sides, the tri-gate transistor ischaracterized in having three channels and three gates, one (g1) whichextends between the source and drain regions on side 312 of silicon body308, a second (g2) which extends between the source and drain regions onthe top surface 316 of silicon body 308, and the third (g3) whichextends between the source and drain regions on the sidewall 310 ofsilicon body 308. The gate “width” (Gw) of transistor 300 is the sum ofthe widths of the three channel regions. That is, the gate width oftransistor 300 is equal to the height 320 of silicon body 308 atsidewall 310, plus the width of silicon body of 308 at the top surface316, plus the height 320 of silicon body 308 at sidewall 312. Larger“width” transistors can be obtained by using multiple devices coupledtogether (e.g., multiple silicon bodies 308 surrounded by a single gateelectrode 324).

Because the channel region 350 is surrounded on three sides by gateelectrode 324 and gate dielectric 322, transistor 300 can be operated ina fully depleted manner wherein when transistor 300 is turned “on” thechannel region 350 fully depletes thereby providing the advantageouselectrical characteristics and performance of a fully depletedtransistor. That is, when transistor 300 is turned “ON” a depletionregion is formed in channel region 350 along with an inversion layer atthe surfaces of region 350 (i.e., an inversion layer is formed on theside surfaces and top surface of the semiconductor body). The inversionlayer has the same conductivity type as the source and drain regions andforms a conductive channel between the source and drain regions to allowcurrent to flow therebetween. The depletion region depletes freecarriers from beneath the inversion layer. The depletion region extendsto the bottom of channel region 350, thus the transistor can be said tobe a “fully depleted” transistor. Fully depleted transistors haveimproved electrical performance characteristics over non-fully depletedor partially depleted transistors. For example, operating transistor 300in a fully depleted manner, gives transistor 300 an ideal or very steepsubthreshold slope. The tri-gate transistor can be fabricated with verysteep sub-threshold slope of less than 80 mV/decade, and ideally about60 mV/decade even when fabricated with semiconductor body thicknesses ofless than 30 nm. Additionally, operating transistor 300 in the fullydepleted manner, transistor 300 has an improved drain induced barrier(DIBL) low in effect which provides for better “OFF” state leakage whichresults in lower leakage and thereby lower power consumption. In anembodiment of the present invention the tri-gate transistor 300 has aDIBL effect of less than 100 mVN and ideally less than 40 mVN.

FIG. 6 is an illustration of two plots 602 and 604 which set forth thebody height and body width which will produce either fully depleted(F.D) or partially depleted (P.D) tri-gate transistors having gatelength (Lg) of 30 nm (602) and 20 nm (604) respectively. In anembodiment of the present invention, the body height, body width andgate length are chosen to have dimensions in which a fully depletedtransistor will be formed. In other embodiments, the tri-gate transistorhas a body height, body width and gate length such that a partiallydepleted transistor is formed.

The tri-gate transistor of the present invention can be said to be anonplanar transistor because the inversion layer of the channel region350 is formed in both the horizontal and vertical directions insemiconductor body 308. The semiconductor device of the presentinvention can also be considered a nonplanar device because the electricfield from the gate electrode 324 is applied from both horizontal (g₂)and vertical sides (g₁ and g₃).

In an embodiment of the present invention tri-gate transistor 300 thesource and drain regions can include a silicon or other semiconductorfilm 410 formed on and around semiconductor body 308 as shown in FIG.4A. For example, semiconductor film 410 can be a silicon film or asilicon alloy such as silicon germanium (Si_(x)Ge_(y)). In an embodimentof the present invention the semiconductor film 410 is a singlecrystalline silicon film formed of the same conductivity type as thesource region 330 and drain region 332. In an embodiment of the presentinvention the semiconductor film can be a silicon alloy such as silicongermanium wherein silicon comprises approximately 1 to 99 atomic percentof the alloy. The semiconductor film 410 need not necessarily be asingle crystalline semiconductor film and in an embodiment can be apolycrystalline film. In an embodiment of the present invention thesemiconductor film 410 is formed on the source region 330 and on thedrain region 332 of semiconductor body 308 to form “raised” source anddrain regions. Semiconductor film 410 can be electrically isolated froma gate electrode 324 by a pair of dielectric sidewall spacers 420 suchas silicon nitride or silicon oxide or composites thereof. Sidewallspacers 420 run along the laterally opposite sidewalls 326 and 328 ofgate electrode 324 as shown in FIG. 4A thereby isolating thesemiconductor film 410 from gate electrode 324 as shown in FIG. 4A. Anembodiment of the present invention sidewalls spacers 420 have athickness of between 20-200Å. By adding a silicon or semiconductor filmto the source and drain regions 330 and 332 of the semiconductor bodyand forming “raised” source and drain regions, the thickness of thesource and drain regions is increased thereby reducing the source/draincontact resistance to transistor 300 and improving its electricalcharacteristics and performance.

In an embodiment of the present invention a silicide film 430, such as,but not limited to, titanium silicide, nickel silicide, and cobaltsilicide is formed on the source region 330 and drain region 332. In anembodiment of the present invention silicide film 430 is formed on asilicon film 410 of silicon body 308 as shown in FIG. 4A. Silicide film430 however can also be formed directly onto the top surface 316 ofsilicon body 308. For example, silicide film 430 can be formed onsilicon body 308 by first forming a silicon film such as an undopedsilicon film and a silicon body and then completely consuming thesilicon film during the silicide process. Dielectric spacers 420 enablessilicide film 430 to be formed on semiconductor body 308 or silicon film410 in a self-aligned process (i.e., a salicide process).

Additionally, in the embodiment of the present invention a semiconductoror silicon film 440 can also be formed on the top of gate electrode 324as can a silicide film 450 on the top surface gate electrode 325 as canbe a silicide film 450. Silicide film 450 and silicon film 440 aretypically formed at the same time as silicide film 430 and silicon film420 on silicon body 308. The formation of a silicon film 440 on silicidefilm 450 on the gate electrode reduces the contact resistance to thegate thereby improving the electrical performance of transistor 300.

As stated above the gate “width” of transistor 300 is equal to the sumof the three gate width created from semiconductor body 308 oftransistor 300. In order to fabricate the transistors with larger gatewidths, transistor 300 can include an additional or multiplesemiconductor bodies or fingers 308 as shown in FIG. 4B. Eachsemiconductor body 308 has a gate dielectric layer 322 formed on its topsurface and sidewalls as shown in FIG. 4B. Gate electrode 324 is formedon and adjacent to each gate dielectric 322 on each of the semiconductorbodies 308. Each semiconductor body 308 also includes a source region330 and a drain region 332 formed in the semiconductor body 308 onopposite sides of gate electrode 324 as shown in FIG. 4B. In anembodiment of the present invention each semiconductor body 308 isformed with the same width and height (thickness) as the othersemiconductor bodies 308. In an embodiment of the present invention eachsource regions 330 and drain regions 332 of the semiconductor bodies 308are electrically coupled together by the semiconductor material used toform semiconductor body 308 to form a source landing pad 460 and a drainlanding pad 480 as shown in FIG. 4B. Alternatively, the source regions330 and drain regions 332 can be coupled together by higher levels ofmetalization (e.g., metal 1, metal 2, metal 3 . . . ) used toelectrically interconnect various transistors 300 together intofunctional circuits. The gate width of transistor 300 as shown in FIG.4B would be equal to the sum of the gate width created by each of thesemiconductor bodies 308. In this way, the tri-gate transistor 300 canbe formed with any gate width desired.

A method of fabricating a tri-gate transistor in accordance withembodiments of the present invention is illustrated in FIGS. 5A-5J. Thefabrication of a tri-gate transistor begins with substrate 502. Asilicon or semiconductor film 508 is formed on substrate 502 as shown inFIG. 5A. In an embodiment of the present invention, the substrate 502 isan insulating substrate, such as shown in FIG. 5A. In an embodiment ofthe present invention, insulating substrate 502 includes a lowermonocrystalline silicon substrate 504 and a top insulating layer 506,such as a silicon dioxide film or silicon nitride film. Insulating layer506 isolates semiconductor film 508 from substrate 504, and inembodiment is formed to a thickness between 200-2000Å. Insulating layer506 is sometimes referred to as a “buried oxide” layer. When a siliconor semiconductor film 508 is formed on an insulating substrate 502, asilicon or semiconductor on insulating (SOI) substrate 500 is created.In other embodiments of the present invention, the substrate 502 can bea semiconductor substrate, such as but not limited to a siliconmonocrystalline substrate and a gallium arsenide substrate.

Although semiconductor film 508 is ideally a silicon film, in otherembodiments it can be other types of semiconductor films, such as butnot limited to germanium (Ge), a silicon germanium alloy (Si_(x)Ge_(y)),gallium arsenide (GaAs), InSb, GaP, GaSb, as well as carbon nanotubes.In an embodiment of the present invention, semiconductor film 508 is anintrinsic (i.e., undoped) silicon film. In other embodiments,semiconductor film 508 is doped to a p type or n type conductivity witha concentration level between 1×10¹⁶-1×10¹⁹ atoms/cm³. Semiconductorfilm 508 can be insitu doped (i.e., doped while it is deposited) ordoped after it is formed on substrate 502 by for exampleion-implantation. Doping after formation enables both PMOS and NMOStri-gate devices to be fabricated easily on the same insulatingsubstrate. The doping level of the semiconductor body at this pointdetermines the doping level of the channel region of the device.

Semiconductor film 508 is formed to a thickness which is approximatelyequal to the height desired for the subsequently formed semiconductorbody or bodies of the fabricated tri-gate transistor. In an embodimentof the present invention, semiconductor film 508 has a thickness orheight 509 of less than 30 nanometers and ideally less than 20nanometers. In an embodiment of the present invention, semiconductorfilm 508 is formed to the thickness approximately equal to the gate“length” desired of the fabricated tri-gate transistor. In an embodimentof the present invention, semiconductor film 508 is formed thicker thandesired gate length of the device. In an embodiment of the presentinvention, semiconductor film 580 is formed to a thickness which willenable the fabricated tri-gate transistor to be operated in a fullydepleted manner for its designed gate length (Lg).

Semiconductor film 508 can be formed on insulating substrate 502 in anywell-known method. In one method of forming a silicon on insulatorsubstrate, known as the SIMOX technique, oxygen atoms are implanted at ahigh dose into a single crystalline silicon substrate and then anneal toform the buried oxide 506 within the substrate. The portion of thesingle crystalline silicon substrate above the buried oxide becomes thesilicon film 508. Another technique currently used to form SOIsubstrates is an epitaxial silicon film transfer technique which isgenerally referred to as bonded SOI. In this technique a first siliconwafer has a thin oxide grown on its surface that will later serve as theburied oxide 506 in the SOI structure. Next, a high dose hydrogenimplant is made into the first silicon wafer to form a high stressregion below the silicon surface of the first wafer. This first wafer isthen flipped over and bonded to the surface of a second silicon wafer.The first wafer is then cleaved along the high stress plain created bythe hydrogen implant. This results in a SOI structure with a thinsilicon layer on top, the buried oxide underneath all on top of thesingle crystalline silicon substrate. Well-known smoothing techniques,such as HC smoothing or chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) can be usedto smooth the top surface of semiconductor film 508 to its desiredthickness.

At this time, if desired, isolation regions (not shown) can be formedinto SOI substrate 500 in order to isolate the various transistors to beformed therein from one another. Isolation regions can be formed byetching away portions of the substrate film 508 surrounding a tri-gatetransistor, by for example well-known photolithographic and etchingtechniques, and then back filling the etched regions with an insulatingfilm, such as SiO₂.

In order to form a tri-gate transistor on substrate 500, a photoresistmask 510 is formed on semiconductor film 508 as shown in FIG. 5B. Thephotoresist mask 510 contains a pattern or plurality of patterns 512defining locations where semiconductor bodies or fins will besubsequently formed in the semiconductor film 508. The photoresistpattern 512 defines the width 518 desired of the subsequently formedsemiconductor bodies or fins of the tri-gate transistor. In anembodiment of the present invention, the pattern 512 define fins orbodies having a width 518 which is equal to or greater than the widthdesired of the gate length (Lg) of the fabricated transistor. In thisway, the most stringent photolithography constraints used to fabricatethe transistor are associated with the gate electrode patterning and notthe semiconductor body or fin definition. In an embodiment of thepresent invention, the semiconductor bodies or fins will have a width518 less than or equal to 30 nanometers and ideally less than or equalto 20 nanometers. In an embodiment of the present invention, thepatterns 512 for the semiconductor bodies or fins have a width 518approximately equal to the silicon body height 509. In an embodiment ofthe present invention, the photoresist patterns 512 have a width 518which is between ½ the semiconductor body height 509 and two times thesemiconductor body height 509.

Additionally, as shown in FIG. 5B, the photoresist mask 510 can alsoinclude patterns 514 and 516 for defining locations where source landingpads and drain landing pads, respectively, are to be formed. The landingpads can be used to connect together the various source regions and toconnect together the various drain regions of the fabricated transistor.The photoresist mask 510 can be formed by well-known photolithographictechniques including masking, exposing, and developing a blanketdeposited photoresist film.

After forming photoresist mask 510, semiconductor film 508 is etched inalignment with photoresist mask 510 to form one or more silicon bodiesor fins and source and drain landing pads (if desired) as shown in FIG.5C. Semiconductor film 508 is etched until the underlying buried oxidelayer 506 is exposed. Well-known semiconductor etching techniques, suchas anisotropic plasma etching or reactive ion etching can be used toetch semiconductor film 508 in alignment with mask 510 as shown in FIG.5C.

After semiconductor film 508 is etched to form semiconductor bodies orfins 520 (and source/drain landing pads 522 and 524, if desired) thephotoresist mask is removed by well-known techniques, such as bychemical stripping and O₂ ashing, to produce the substrate shown in FIG.5D.

Next, a gate dielectric layer 526 is formed on and around eachsemiconductor body 520. That is, a gate dielectric layer 526 is formedon the top surface 527 of each of the semiconductor bodies 520 as wellas on the laterally opposite sidewalls 528 and 529 of each of thesemiconductor bodies 520. The gate dielectric can be a depositeddielectric or a grown dielectric. In an embodiment of the presentinvention, the gate dielectric layer 526 is a silicon dioxide dielectricfilm grown with a dry/wet oxidation process. In an embodiment of thepresent invention, the silicon oxide film is grown to a thickness ofbetween 5-15Å. In an embodiment of the present invention, the gatedielectric film 526 is a deposited dielectric, such as but not limitedto a high dielectric constant film, such as metal oxide dielectric, suchas tantalum pentaoxide (Ta₂O₅) and titanium oxide (TiO2) or other high-Kdielectrics, such as PZT and BST. A high dielectric constant film can beformed by any well-known technique, such as by chemical vapor deposition(CVD).

Next, as shown in FIG. 5E, a gate electrode 530 is formed. The gateelectrode 530 is formed on the gate dielectric layer 526 formed on thetop surface 527 of each of the semiconductor bodies 520 and is formed onor adjacent to the gate dielectric 526 formed on or adjacent to thesidewalls 528 and 529 of each of the semiconductor bodies as shown inFIG. 5E. The gate electrode 530 has a top surface 532 opposite of bottomsurface formed on the insulating substrate 502 and has a pair oflaterally opposite sidewalls 534 and 536. The distance between thelaterally opposite sidewalls 534 and 536 define the gate length (Lg) 538of the tri-gate transistor. Gate electrode 530 can be formed by blanketdepositing a suitable gate electrode material over the substrate shownin FIG. 5D. The gate electrode can be formed to a thickness 533 between200-3000Å. In an embodiment the gate electrode has a thickness or height533 of at least three times the height 509 of semiconductor bodies 520.The gate electrode material is then patterned with well-knownphotolithography and etching techniques to form gate electrode 530 fromthe gate electrode material. In embodiment of the present invention, thegate electrode material comprises polycrystalline silicon. In anotherembodiment of the present invention, the gate electrode materialcomprises a polycrystalline silicon germanium alloy. In yet otherembodiment of the present invention, the gate electrode material cancomprise a metal film, such as tungsten, tantalum, and their nitrides.Gate electrode 530 can be formed by well-known techniques, such as byblanket depositing a gate electrode material over the substrate of FIG.5D and then patterning the gate electrode material with well-knownphotolithography and etching techniques. In an embodiment of the presentinvention, the photolithography process used to define gate electrode530 utilizes the minimum or smallest dimension lithography process usedto fabricate the tri-gate transistor. (That is, in an embodiment of thepresent invention, the gate length (Lg) 538 of gate electrode 530 has aminimum feature dimension of the transistor defined byphotolithography.) In an embodiment of the present invention, the gatelength 538 is less than or equal to 30 nanometers and ideally less thanor equal to 20 nanometers.

Next, source and drain regions for the transistor are formed insemiconductor body 520 on opposite sides of gate electrode 530. In anembodiment of the present invention, the source and drain regionsinclude tip or source/drain extension regions. Source and drainextension regions 540 and 542, respectively, can be formed by placingdopants 544 into semiconductor bodies 520 on both sides 532, 534 of gateelectrode 530 in order to form tip regions 540 and 542 as shown in FIG.5F. Source and drain landing pads 522 and 524 are not shown in FIGS.5F-5J to better illustrate aspects of the present invention. If sourceand drain landing pads 522 and 524 are utilized, they may be doped atthis time also. For a PMOS tri-gate transistor, the semiconductor finsor bodies 520 are doped to a p type conductivity and to a concentrationbetween 1×10²⁰-1×10²¹ atoms/cm³. For a NMOS tri-gate transistor, thesemiconductor fins or bodies 520 is doped with n type conductivity ionsto a concentration between 1×10²⁰-1×10²¹ atoms/cm³. In an embodiment ofthe present invention, the silicon films are doped by ion-implantation.In an embodiment of the present invention, the ion-implantation occursin a vertical direction (i.e., a direction perpendicular to substrate500) as shown in FIG. 5F. When gate electrode 530 is a polysilicon gateelectrode, it can be doped during the ion-implantation process. Gateelectrode 530 acts as a mask to prevent the ion-implantation step fromdoping the channel region(s) 548 of the tri-gate transistor. The channelregion 548 is the portion of the silicon body 520 located beneath orsurrounded by the gate electrode 530. If gate electrode 530 is a metalelectrode, a dielectric hard mask maybe used to block the doping duringthe ion-implantation process. In other embodiments, other methods, suchas solid source diffusion, may be used to dope the semiconductor body toform source and drain extensions.

In embodiments of the present invention, “halo” regions can be formed insilicon body prior to the formation of a source/drain regions orsource/drain extension regions. Halo regions are doped regions formed inthe channel region 548 of the device and are of the same conductivitybut of a slightly higher concentration than the doping of the channelregion of the device. Halo regions can be formed by ion-implantatingdopants beneath the gate electrode by utilizing large angledion-implantation techniques.

Next, if desired, the substrate shown in FIG. 5F can be furtherprocessed to form additional features, such as heavily dopedsource/drain contact regions, deposited silicon on the source and drainregions as well as the gate electrode, and the formation of silicide onthe source/drain contact regions as well as on the gate electrode.

In embodiments of the present invention, dielectric sidewall spacers 550can be formed on the sidewalls of the gate electrode. Sidewall spacerscan be utilized to offset heavy source/drain contact implants, can beused to isolate source/drain regions from the gate electrode during aselective silicon deposition processes and can be used in a salicideprocess to form silicide on the source and drain regions as well as onthe gate electrode. Spacers can be formed by blanket depositing aconformal dielectric film 550, such as but not limited to siliconnitride, silicon oxide, silicon oxynitride or combination thereof overthe substrate 500 of FIG. 5F. Dielectric film is deposited in aconformal manner so that it forms to substantially equal heights onvertical surfaces, such as sidewalls 534 and 536 of gate electrode 530as well as on horizontal surfaces, such as on the top 526 of siliconfilm 520 and the top of gate electrode 530. In an embodiment of thepresent invention, the dielectric film is a silicon nitride film formedby a hot wall low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) process.The deposited thickness of the dielectric film determines the width orthickness of the formed spacers. In an embodiment of the presentinvention, the dielectric film is formed to a thickness between 20-200Å.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5G, the dielectric film is anisotropically etchedby for example plasma etching or reactive ion etching to form sidewallspacers 550. The anisotropic etch of dielectric film removes thedielectric film from horizontal surfaces, such as the top of gateelectrode 530 (as well as the top of landing pads 522 and 524 if used)and leaves dielectric sidewall spacers adjacent to vertical surfaces,such as sidewalls 534 and 536 of gate electrode 530. The etch iscontinued for a sufficient period of time to remove the dielectric filmfrom all horizontal surfaces. In an embodiment of the present invention,an over etch is utilized so that the spacer material on the sidewalls ofthe semiconductor bodies 520 is removed as shown in FIG. 5G. The resultis the formation of sidewall spacers 550 which run along and adjacent tosidewall 532 and 534 of gate electrode 530 as shown in FIG. 5H.

Next, if desired, a semiconductor film 560 can be formed on the exposedsurfaces of semiconductor body 520 (as well as on landing pads 522 and524) as shown in FIG. 5H. Additionally, if desired, a semiconductor film562 can be formed on the top of gate electrode 530. The semiconductorfilm can be a single crystalline film or a polycrystalline film. In anembodiment of present invention, semiconductor film 560 is an epitaxial(single crystalline) silicon film. In an embodiment of the presentinvention, the silicon film 560 is formed by a selective depositionprocess whereby silicon is formed only on exposed regions which containsilicon, such as the exposed top surface 527 and sidewalls 528 and 529of silicon body 520. In a selective deposition process the silicon filmdoes not form on dielectric areas, such as sidewall spacers 555. Whengate electrode 530 comprises a polycrystalline silicon film, siliconfilm would also selectively form on the top surface of gate electrode530 to form silicon film 562. In an embodiment of present invention, asilicon film 560 is formed to a thickness between 50-500Å. In anembodiment of the present invention, the silicon film is formed to athickness sufficient to provide enough silicon to be used or consumedduring the formation of a silicide film on the source and drain regions.The silicon film can be insitu doped (i.e., doped during deposition) orsubsequently doped by for example ion-implantation or solid sourcediffusion. The silicon film is doped to the conductivity type desiredfor the source and drain regions of the device. In an embodiment of thepresent invention, the deposited silicon film 560 and 562 are intrinsicsilicon films (i.e., undoped silicon films). The deposition ofsemiconductor film 560 forms raised source and drain regions whichimproves the parasitics of the device.

In an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 51, thedeposited silicon film 560 and 562 are doped by ion-implantationutilizing a vertical ion-implantation angle. The ion-implantationprocess dopes the deposited silicon film 560 and the silicon body 520located underneath to a concentration between 1×10²⁰-1×10²¹ atoms/cm³ toform a source contact region 570 and a drain contact region 572.Sidewall spacers 550 offset the source/drain contact implantation stepand define the tips regions as a region of the doped silicon bodybeneath sidewall spacer 550. The above referenced process forms sourceregions 570 and drain regions 572 which each comprise a tip region and acontact region. The tip region is the region of the silicon body 520located beneath sidewall spacers 555. The contact regions are theregions of the silicon body and deposited silicon film which areadjacent to the outside edges of the sidewall spacers 550. Additionally,the source/drain contact regions include the source and drain landingpads 522 and 524 when utilized.

Next, if desired, a refractory metal silicide 580 can be formed on thesource and drain contact regions as well as on the top of gate electrode530 (or silicon film 562) as shown in FIG. 5J. A refractory metalsilicide film 580 can be formed with a self-aligned process, such as asalicide process. In a salicide process a refractory metal film, such astitanium, tungsten, nickel, cobalt or alike to blanket deposited overthe substrate of FIG. 5J. The substrate is then heated to a suitabletemperature to cause the refractory metal film to react with siliconportion of substrate 500, such as silicon film 560 formed on the siliconbodies and silicon film 562 formed on the gate electrodes in order toform a refractory metal silicide. Locations where silicon is unavailableto react, such as dielectric spacers 555 and exposed portions of buriedoxide 506, do not react and remain as refractory metal. A selectiveetch, such as a wet etch can then be utilized to remove the unreactedrefractory metal and leave the refractory metal silicide on the contactareas. In this way, a metal silicide film can be self-aligned to thecontact regions of a tri-gate transistor. This completes the fabricationof a tri-gate transistor in accordance with the present invention.

In an embodiment of the present invention the gate dielectric layer isformed such that the sidewall capacitance of the trigate or nonplanartransistor is reduced. Applicant has discovered that the majority of thecurrent conduction of a trigate or nonplanar transistor occurs at thecorner of the semiconductor body between the top surface and thelaterally opposite sidewalls of the semiconductor body. Because littlecurrent is conducted on the sidewalls, it desirable to reduce the gatecapacitance associated with the sidewalls to thereby improve the devicecurrent per unit capacitance of the sidewalls. Accordingly, in anembodiment of the present invention the gate dielectric is fabricated insuch a manner so that the gate dielectric layer on the sidewalls of thesemiconductor body provides a lower gate capacitance per gate width thandoes the gate dielectric layer on the top surface of the semiconductorbody. A lower gate capacitance per gate width on the sidewalls of thesemiconductor body as compared to the top surface can be achieved by,for example, making the gate dielectric layer thicker on the sidewallsof the semiconductor body as compared to the top surface of thesemiconductor body and/or making the effective dielectric constant (Keffective) of the gate dielectric layer on the sidewalls lower than theeffective dielectric constant of the gate dielectric layer on the topsurface of a semiconductor body.

In an embodiment of the present invention, a semiconductor body 702having a top surface 704 and a pair laterally opposite sidewalls 706 isformed on an insulating substrate 700. A gate dielectric layer 710 isformed on and around the semiconductor body 702 as shown in FIG. 7A. Thegate dielectric layer 710 includes a first portion 712 formed on the topsurface 704 of the semiconductor body 702 and a second portion 714formed on or directly adjacent to the sidewalls 706 of semiconductorbody 702. As shown in FIG. 7A, the gate dielectric layer 714 on thesidewalls 706 of the semiconductor body 702 is thicker than the gatedielectric layer 712 on the top surface 704 of the semiconductor body702. In an embodiment of the present invention, the gate dielectriclayer 714 on the sidewalls of the semiconductor body 702 is at least 1.3times the thickness of the gate dielectric layer 712 formed on the topsurface 704 of the semiconductor body 702. A gate electrode 718 isformed on first dielectric portion 712 and on or adjacent to the seconddielectric portion 714, as shown in FIG. 7A.

In an embodiment of the present invention, as illustrated in FIG. 7B,the gate dielectric layer 724 on the sidewalls 706 of the semiconductorbody 702 is a composite gate dielectric which comprises a firstdielectric layer 720 formed on or directly adjacent to the sidewalls 706of the semiconductor body 702 and a second dielectric layer 722 formedon or directly adjacent to the first dielectric layer 720. The seconddielectric 722 is also formed directly on the top surface 704 of thesemiconductor body 702, as shown in FIG. 7B. In an embodiment of thepresent invention, the second dielectric layer 722 is a deposited highdielectric constant (high K) film. A high dielectric constant filmtypically has a dielectric constant of greater than 9.0 and ideallygreater than 20. A high dielectric constant film can be a metal oxidedielectric, such as but not limited to tantalum pentaoxide (Ta₂O₅),titanium oxide, hafnium oxide, zirconium oxide, and aluminum oxide andvarious silicates. The second dielectric layer 722, however, can bethese or other well known high dielectric constant films, such as leadzirconate titanate (PZT) or barium strontium titatanate (BST). Utilizinga high dielectric constant film enables a gate dielectric to be formedrelatively thick between 20-3000Å and ideally about 200Å for a highdielectric constant (K>100) material. A thick gate dielectric layerhelps block gate leakage current of the device. A gate electrode 740 isformed on second dielectric 722 on the top surface 704 of body 702 andon or adjacent to the composite dielectric 724 adjacent to the sidewalls706 of body 702, as shown in FIG. 7B.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the first dielectric layer720 formed on the sidewalls 706 of the semiconductor body 702 is a growndielectric layer, such as a silicon dioxide or silicon oxynitride film.In an embodiment of the present invention, the first dielectric layer720 has a dielectric constant (K) less than the dielectric constant ofthe second dielectric layer 722. When the first dielectric layer 720 hasa dielectric constant less than the second dielectric 722, the effectivedielectric constant (K effective) of the composite dielectric layer 724formed on and adjacent to the sidewalls 706 of the semiconductor body702 will be lower than the dielectric constant of the dielectric film712 formed on the top surface 704 of the semiconductor body 702. Thatis, because the composite dielectric 714 comprises a first dielectriclayer 720 which has a relatively low dielectric constant (e.g., K lessthan 8), and a second dielectric 722 which has a high dielectricconstant (e.g., K greater than 20), the effective dielectric constant (Keffective) of the composite film 724 will be less than the dielectricconstant of the high dielectric film 722 formed alone on the topsurface. In this way, there is less gate capacitance associated with thesidewalls 706 than the top surface 704. Additionally, because thecomposite dielectric film 724 formed on the sidewalls 706 of thesemiconductor body 702 is thicker than the single dielectric film 722formed on the top surface 704 of the semiconductor body 702, the gatecapacitance associated with the sidewalls is even further decreased.

Additionally, in an embodiment of the present invention, as shown inFIG. 7B, the first dielectric layer 720 is formed on the sidewalls 706of the semiconductor body 702 below the corners 730 of the semiconductorbody between the top surface 704 and the sidewalls 706. In a nonplanardevice, such as the trigate device, the majority of the current flowoccurs in the vicinity of corners 730 of the semiconductor body 702. Bykeeping the dielectric film on the corners 730 thin and/or of a highdielectric constant film, the performance of the semiconductor device isgreatly improved. Additionally, in an embodiment of the presentinvention, the corners 730, as shown in FIG. 7B, are rounded which canhelp improve device performance and/or reliability.

One method of forming a gate dielectric film 710 with a differentthickness on the top surface 704 than on the sidewalls 706, as shown inFIG. 7A, is to provide an epitaxial silicon body or fin 702 whichcontains sidewalls 706 which have a (110) crystal orientation and a topsurface 704 which has a (100) crystal orientation. The fins or siliconbody 702 can then be thermally oxidized by any well-known process, suchas by a wet oxidation (H₂O) or a combination dry/wet oxidation to formthe dielectric film 710. Because the (110) crystal orientation siliconexhibits a higher or enhanced thermal oxidation rate than does (100)crystal orientation silicon, the thermal oxidation of the silicon body702 will result in a thicker oxide on the sidewalls 706 than on the topsurface 704 of the semiconductor body. The differential oxidation ratedue to the different crystal orientations of the sidewalls and topsurface results in a thermally grown oxide having a sidewall to topsurface thickness ratio of approximately equal to or greater than 1.3.In an embodiment of the present invention, the gate dielectric film 712on the top surface of the semiconductor body 702 has a thickness ofabout 15Å while the thickness on the sidewalls of the silicon body 702is approximately 27Å.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the differential oxide growthrate between the top surface 704 and the sidewalls 706 can be enhancedby incorporating an oxidation resistance or impeding impurity species,such as nitrogen, into the top surface 704 of the silicon body 702.Implanting nitrogen into the top surface 704 impedes or slows theoxidation rate of the top surface of the silicon body thereby providinga larger differential oxide growth rate between the sidewalls and thetop surface resulting in a thicker gate dielectric on the sidewalls 706as compared to the top surface 704. Additionally, incorporating nitrogeninto the top surface can result in the formation of a silicon oxynitridefilm on the top surface 704 of the silicon body 702. It is to beappreciated that a silicon oxynitride film has a higher dielectricconstant than does a pure silicon oxide film resulting in a greaterdifference between the gate capacitance per gate width associated withthe sidewalls as compared to the gate capacitance of the top surface.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the sidewalls 706 ofsemiconductor body 702 can be altered to enhance the oxidation rate ofthe sidewalls 706 as compared to the top surface 704. For example, thesidewalls 706 can be exposed to a sputter etch process prior tooxidation in order to roughen their surface to provide a greater surfacearea to enhance the oxidation rate of the sidewalls. Such a rougheningprocess can occur, for example, after etching the silicon body 520 andprior to removing the photoresist mask 510 as shown in FIG. 5A.Alternatively, a hard mask can be formed on the top surface of thesemiconductor body to protect the top surface from the rougheningprocess to enable the differential oxide growth.

FIGS. 8A-8D illustrate a method of forming a gate dielectric layer witha greater thickness on the sidewalls of a semiconductor body than on thetop surface of a semiconductor body, and/or with a lower effectivedielectric constant on the sidewalls of a semiconductor body than on thetop surface of a semiconductor body. The process, as set forth in FIGS.8A-8D, can begin after the formation of a semiconductor body or fins asillustrated in FIG. 5D.

The first step as shown in FIG. 8A, is to form a first dielectric layer814 on the top surface 804 of a semiconductor body 802 and on ordirectly adjacent to a pair of laterally opposite sidewalls 806 ofsemiconductor body 802 formed on an insulating substrate 800. In anembodiment of the present invention, the first dielectric layer 814 is athermally grown silicon dioxide or silicon oxynitride dielectric layer.When semiconductor body 802 is a silicon monocrystalline film havingsidewalls with a (110) crystal orientation and a top surface with a(100), a thermal oxidation process will grow a thicker oxide on thesidewalls 806 than on the top surface 804 of the semiconductor body asshown in FIG. 8A. Any well known thermal oxidation process can be usedto form the thermally grown silicon oxide or silicon oxynitride film814. When the first dielectric layer 814 is formed by a thermaloxidation process, the corners 830 are rounded by the oxidation process.Rounded corners 830 improves the reliability and performance of thefabrication transistor. In an embodiment of the present invention, athermal oxide having a thickness of at least 10Å (approximately 2-3monolayers) can be formed on the top surface 804 of the semiconductorbody 802 and on the sidewalls 806 on the semiconductor body 802.Although the first dielectric 814 is ideally a grown dielectric, thefirst dielectric layer 814 can be a deposited dielectric, if desired. Inan embodiment of the present invention, the first dielectric layer 814is formed of a material and to a thickness sufficient to make thesidewall gate capacitance per gate width approximately 30% less than thegate capacitance on the top surface of the semiconductor body.

Next, as shown in FIG. 8B, the first portion of the dielectric film 814formed on the top surface 804 of semiconductor body 802 is removed asshown in FIG. 8B. In an embodiment of the present invention, the portionof the first gate dielectric layer 814 covering the corners 830 of thesemiconductor body 802 is also removed. In an embodiment of the presentinvention, the portion of the first dielectric layer 814 formed on thetop surface of the semiconductor body 802 is removed utilizing ananisotropic etching process. Such an etching process will remove thedielectric film 814 from horizontal surfaces, such as the top surface804 of semiconductor body 802 while leaving the first gate dielectriclayer 814 on the sidewalls 806 as shown in FIG. 8B. An over etchingprocess can be utilized to recess the gate dielectric layer 814 on thesidewalls 806 so that the gate dielectric layer 814 covering corners 830is also removed as shown in FIG. 8B. Any well known anisotropic etchingtechnique can be utilized, such as reactive ion etching (RIE).

Next, as shown in FIG. 8C, a second dielectric layer 820 is formeddirectly onto the top surface 804 of semiconductor body 802 as well ason or directly adjacent to first dielectric layer 814 formed on thesidewalls 806 of semiconductor body 802 as shown in FIG. 8C. In anembodiment of the present invention, the second dielectric layer 820 isa deposited high K dielectric film, such as but not limited to PZT, BST,tantalum pentaoxide, hafnium oxide, zirconium oxide and aluminum oxideand various silicates. Any well known and suitable technique can beutilized to deposit second dielectric layer 820 including but notlimited to chemical vapor deposition (CVD), atomic layer deposition(ALD), and sputtering (PVD). In an embodiment of the present invention,the second deposited dielectric layer 820 is formed to a thicknessbetween 20-3000Å depending on the targeted dielectric thickness.

Next, as shown in FIG. 8D, a gate electrode 840 is formed on gatedielectric layer 820 formed on the top surface 804 of semiconductor body802 as well as formed directly adjacent to second gate dielectric layer820 formed adjacent to gate dielectric layer 814 formed on sidewalls 806of semiconductor body 802 as described above. Processing of thefabricated device can then continue as set forth in FIGS. 5F-5J asdescribed above. Although the process shown in FIGS. 8A-8D illustrate agate dielectric formed from a composite film 814 and 820 on thesidewalls 806 and a single dielectric film 820 on the top surface 804,the above referenced process can be utilized to form three or more filmson the sidewalls and one or more films on the top surface in order toobtain and achieve a desired thickness differential and/or effectivegate dielectric constant differential between the sidewall gatedielectric and top gate dielectric.

FIGS. 9A-9D illustrate another method of forming a gate dielectric layerwith a greater thickness on the sidewalls than on the top surface of asemiconductor body, and/or with gate dielectric layer with a lowereffective dielectric constant on the sidewalls than on the top surfaceof the semiconductor body. According to this embodiment of the presentinvention, an oxidation resistant mask 908 is formed on the top surface904 of a semiconductor body 902 having a top surface and laterallyopposite sidewalls 906. The oxidation resistant mask 908 can be formedon the top surface of the semiconductor body by, for example, forming ablanket deposition of an oxidation resistant mask film, such as asilicon nitride or silicon oxynitride film, over the semiconductor film508 shown in FIG. 5A. The oxidation resistant film can then be patternedalong with the semiconductor thin film 508 when it is patterned intosemiconductor body or fins as shown in FIG. 5C. The oxidation resistantmask is formed of a material and to a thickness sufficient to preventthe underlying top surface 904 of the semiconductor body 902 fromoxidizing during a thermal oxidation process. In an embodiment of thepresent invention, the oxidation resistant mask is a silicon nitride orsilicon oxynitride film formed to a thickness between 30-1000Å.

Next, as shown in FIG. 9B, the semiconductor body is exposed to athermally oxidizing ambient in order to thermally grow a silicon dioxidefilm 910 on the sidewalls 906 of the semiconductor body 902. Theoxidation resistant mask 908 prevents the top surface 904 of thesemiconductor body 902 from being oxidized. Any well known thermaloxidation process, such as a wet oxidation or a dry/wet oxidation may beutilized to thermally grow a silicon oxide dielectric layer 910 as shownin FIG. 9B. In an embodiment of the present invention, gate dielectriclayer 910 is grown to a thickness of approximately 10Å or 2-3monolayers. In an embodiment of the present invention, the thermallygrown gate dielectric layer 910 is formed to a thickness sufficient tomake the sidewall gate capacitance approximately 30% less than the gatecapacitance on the top surface of the semiconductor body. Next, after asufficiently thick gate dielectric 910 has been formed on the sidewalls906 of semiconductor body 904, the hard mask film 908 is removed with aselective etch which is selective to the thermally grown silicon dioxidedielectric film 910. A phosphoric acid wet etch can be utilized toremove a hard mask 908 and thereby expose the top surface 904 ofsemiconductor body 902 without substantially etching sidewall gate oxidedielectric 910.

Next, as shown in FIG. 9C, a second dielectric layer 912 is depositeddirectly onto the top surface 904 of semiconductor body 902 as well asonto or directly adjacent to the dielectric layer 910 on the sidewalls906 of semiconductor body 902. In an embodiment of the presentinvention, the deposited dielectric layer 912 is a high K dielectricfilm, such as but not limited to PZT, BST, tantalum pentaoxide, hafniumoxide, zirconium oxide and aluminum oxide and various silicates. Anywell known technique can be utilized to deposit dielectric layer 912,such as but not limited to chemical vapor deposition, atomic layerdeposition, and sputtering. The deposited dielectric layer willtypically be formed in a conformal manner wherein the thickness onvertical surfaces, such as sidewalls 906 will be similar to thethickness on horizontal surfaces, such as top surface 904. In anembodiment of the present invention, the second dielectric can bedeposited to a thickness between 20-3000Å depending on the targeteddielectric thickness.

Next, as shown in FIG. 9D, a gate electrode 940 is formed above ordirectly on top of gate dielectric body 912 formed on the top surface904 of semiconductor body 902 as well as on or directly adjacent todielectric layer 912 formed on dielectric 910 on sidewalls 906 ofsemiconductor body 902 as shown in FIG. 9D and described above. At thispoint, the nonplanar or trigate semiconductor device can be processed asset forth in FIGS. 5F-5J to complete fabrication of the semiconductordevice.

Thus, tri-gate transistors and methods of fabrication have beendescribed.

1. A semiconductor device comprising: a semiconductor body having a topsurface and laterally opposite sidewalls formed on an insulatingsubstrate; a gate dielectric layer formed on said top surface of saidsemiconductor body and on said laterally opposite sidewalls of saidsemiconductor body wherein said gate dielectric layer on the top surfaceof the said semiconductor body has a higher effective dielectricconstant than said gate dielectric layer on said sidewalls of saidsemiconductor body, wherein said gate dielectric layer on said sidewallscomprises a first grown dielectric layer and a second depositeddielectric layer, wherein said gate dielectric layer on said top surfaceof said semiconductor body consist only of said second depositeddielectric layer; and a gate electrode formed on said gate dielectric onsaid top surface of said semiconductor body and adjacent to said gatedielectric on said laterally opposite sidewalls of said semiconductorbody.